HISTORY

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HISTORY

GRANDFUNKRAILROAD

MARK, DON & MEL FORMED GRAND FUNK RAILROAD IN 1969 AFTER THE BREAKUP OF "TERRY KNIGHT AND THE PACK". TERRY KNIGHT BECAME PRODUCER OF THE EARLY GFR ALBUMS, AND THEY HAD GREAT SUCCESS IN U S. AND JAPAN.

THE FIRST ALBUM "ON TIME" WAS RELEASED IN 1969.

THE SECOND ALBUM "GRAND FUNK" WAS RELEASED THE SAME YEAR.

GRAND FUNK TURNED OUT TO BE THE ULTIMATE LIVE BAND. THEIR BREAKTHROUGH CAME AT THE ATLANTA POP FESTIVAL. THIRD ALBUM "CLOSER TO HOME" FROM 1970 WAS DIFFERENT IN MANY WAYS. THE STYLE IS SOFTER AND THE LYRICS ARE DEEPER. "LIVE ALBUM " WAS RECORDED DURING THEIR SUMMER TOUR IN FLORIDA 1970. THE PICTURE ON THE INSIDE JACKET OF THE LIVE ALBUM WAS TAKEN AT THE 1970 ATLANTA POP FESTIVAL. BEACAUSE OF THIS MANY PEOPLE ASSUMED THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED THERE. ACCORDING TO THE MARK FARNER BIOGRAPHY, NO REMOTE RECORDING WAS EVER DONE AT THE FESTIVAL..

"SURVIVAL" (1971) CONTAINS TWO COVER SONGS, THE ROLLING STONES HIT "GIMME SHELTER". AND THE TRAFFIC TUNE "FEELIN' ALRIGHT", BOTH RELEASED AS SINGLES.

NEXT ALBUM "E PLURIBUS FUNK", WITH A SLEEVE LOOKING LIKE A SILVER COIN, WAS RELEASED IN NOVEMBER OF 1971 ALTHOUGH THE DATE ON THE ALBUM JACKET SAYS 1972. IN MY OPINION, THIS WAS THEIR HARDEST ROCKING ALBUM TO DATE. MARK SHINED AS A GUITARIST THROUGHOUT, BUT ESPECIALLY ON "I COME TUMBLING". THEIR NEXT ALBUM, "MARK, DON & MEL 1969-71' " WAS A GREATEST HITS SO FAR ALBUM WITH SONGS FEATURING 'TIME MACHINE', INTO THE SUN AND THE NEWER SONGS 'LONELINESS' AND THEIR SINGLE 'FOOTSTOMPIN MUSIC. "PHOENIX" ALBUM (1972) WAS THE FIRST ALBUM WITH CRAIG FROST ON KEYBOARD. BUT CRAIG WAS NOT YET A MEMBER OF THE GROUP. THE SONG "ROCK´N ROLL SOUL" FROM THIS ALBUM BECAME ONE OF THEIR LARGEST HITS.

GRANDFUNKRAILROAD

KEYBOARDPLAYER CRAIG FROST JOINED THE BAND PERMANENTLY ON THE ALBUM "WE´RE AN AMERICAN BAND" FROM 1973. PRODUCED BY TODD RUNDGREN, IT GAVE THE BAND A MORE POLISHED SOUND BUT IT STILL ROCKED HARD. THE FIRST 100,000 ALBUMS WERE PRINTED ON CLEAR GOLD VIRGIN VINYL. "SHININ´ON"(1974) WITH 3-D GLASSES ON COVER, WAS ALSO PRODUCED BY TODD RUNDGREN AND CONTAINED THE LITTLE EVA HIT 'THE LOCO-MOTION'. "ALL THE GIRLS IN THE WORLD BEWARE" (1974) WAS THE LAST GOLD ALBUM, FEATURING THE SINGLE 'BAD TIME' AND THE ANOTHER OLD SONG, 'SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL'.

SECOND LIVE ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN 1975 "CAUGHT IN THE ACT" WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED "LIVE '75", BUT AT THE LAST MINUTE THEY CHANGED IT. "BORN TO DIE" RELEASED IN 1976 WAS STARTING TO SHOW A BAND THAT WAS RUNNING OUT OF STEAM. THE STYLE WAS ONCE AGAIN DIFFERENT FROM EARLIER PRODUCTIONS, SOUNDING MORE POPISH WITH THE SINGLE 'SALLY'. THE LAST ALBUM, "GOOD SINGIN´GOOD PLAYIN´"(1976) WAS PRODUCED BY FRANK ZAPPA, AND JUST LIKE THE TITLE SAID IT WAS GOOD SINGIN AND GOOD PLAYIN AND PROBABLY MORE ROCKING THAN THIER LAST TWO EFFORTS, BUT IT DIDNT SELL AS WELL. BETWEEN THE TENSIONS MOUNTING IN THE BAND AND THE DISCO ERA COMMING INTO PLAY, THEY DECIDED TO CALL IT QUITS.

AFTER THE BREAKUP 1976, MARK FARNER FORMED "MARK FARNER BAND", THE OTHER MEMBERS CONTINUED UNDER THE NAME OF "FLINT", BUT TO NO GREAT SUCCESS. IN 1981 GRAND FUNK MADE AN ATTEMPT TO COME BACK WITH THEIR ALBUM "GRAND FUNK LIVES" WITH A LONGTIME FRIEND DENNIS BELLINGER ON BASS REPLACING MEL SCHACHER AND WITHOUT KEYBORADIST CRAIG FROST. THAT ALBUM FEATURED THE OLD ANIMALS CLASSIC 'WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE'. "WHAT´S FUNK", RELEASED IN 1983 WAS IN MY OPINION A STRONG ALBUM WITH TWO OLD SONGS, THE JAMES BROWN SONG, 'ITS A MAN'S WORLD' AND MARTHA AND THE VANDELLAS HIT 'NOWHERE TO RUN'. EVEN WITH THESE TWO STRONG SONGS, THE ALBUM FAILED. THIS WAS THEIR LAST STUDIO ALBUM TO DATE. REUNITED AGAIN AND OUT ON TOUR IN 1997, THE NEW LIVE ALBUM "BOSNIA" WAS RECORDED AT THE PALACE IN AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN. IN 1999 THEY RELEASED "THIRTY YEARS OF FUNK--1969-1999 THE ANTHOLOGY" WITH THREE NEW SONGS.

GRANDFUNKRAILROAD


	My Funk Site \| home Discography \| HISTORY HISTORY GRANDFUNKRAILROAD MARK, DON & MEL FORMED GRAND FUNK RAILROAD IN 1969 AFTER THE BREAKUP OF "TERRY KNIGHT AND THE PACK". TERRY KNIGHT BECAME PRODUCER OF THE EARLY GFR ALBUMS, AND THEY HAD GREAT SUCCESS IN U S. AND JAPAN. THE FIRST ALBUM "ON TIME" WAS RELEASED IN 1969. THE SECOND ALBUM "GRAND FUNK" WAS RELEASED THE SAME YEAR. GRAND FUNK TURNED OUT TO BE THE ULTIMATE LIVE BAND. THEIR BREAKTHROUGH CAME AT THE ATLANTA POP FESTIVAL. THIRD ALBUM "CLOSER TO HOME" FROM 1970 WAS DIFFERENT IN MANY WAYS. THE STYLE IS SOFTER AND THE LYRICS ARE DEEPER. "LIVE ALBUM " WAS RECORDED DURING THEIR SUMMER TOUR IN FLORIDA 1970. THE PICTURE ON THE INSIDE JACKET OF THE LIVE ALBUM WAS TAKEN AT THE 1970 ATLANTA POP FESTIVAL. BEACAUSE OF THIS MANY PEOPLE ASSUMED THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED THERE. ACCORDING TO THE MARK FARNER BIOGRAPHY, NO REMOTE RECORDING WAS EVER DONE AT THE FESTIVAL.. "SURVIVAL" (1971) CONTAINS TWO COVER SONGS, THE ROLLING STONES HIT "GIMME SHELTER". AND THE TRAFFIC TUNE "FEELIN' ALRIGHT", BOTH RELEASED AS SINGLES. NEXT ALBUM "E PLURIBUS FUNK", WITH A SLEEVE LOOKING LIKE A SILVER COIN, WAS RELEASED IN NOVEMBER OF 1971 ALTHOUGH THE DATE ON THE ALBUM JACKET SAYS 1972. IN MY OPINION, THIS WAS THEIR HARDEST ROCKING ALBUM TO DATE. MARK SHINED AS A GUITARIST THROUGHOUT, BUT ESPECIALLY ON "I COME TUMBLING". THEIR NEXT ALBUM, "MARK, DON & MEL 1969-71' " WAS A GREATEST HITS SO FAR ALBUM WITH SONGS FEATURING 'TIME MACHINE', INTO THE SUN AND THE NEWER SONGS 'LONELINESS' AND THEIR SINGLE 'FOOTSTOMPIN MUSIC. "PHOENIX" ALBUM (1972) WAS THE FIRST ALBUM WITH CRAIG FROST ON KEYBOARD. BUT CRAIG WAS NOT YET A MEMBER OF THE GROUP. THE SONG "ROCK´N ROLL SOUL" FROM THIS ALBUM BECAME ONE OF THEIR LARGEST HITS. GRANDFUNKRAILROAD KEYBOARDPLAYER CRAIG FROST JOINED THE BAND PERMANENTLY ON THE ALBUM "WE´RE AN AMERICAN BAND" FROM 1973. PRODUCED BY TODD RUNDGREN, IT GAVE THE BAND A MORE POLISHED SOUND BUT IT STILL ROCKED HARD. THE FIRST 100,000 ALBUMS WERE PRINTED ON CLEAR GOLD VIRGIN VINYL. "SHININ´ON"(1974) WITH 3-D GLASSES ON COVER, WAS ALSO PRODUCED BY TODD RUNDGREN AND CONTAINED THE LITTLE EVA HIT 'THE LOCO-MOTION'. "ALL THE GIRLS IN THE WORLD BEWARE" (1974) WAS THE LAST GOLD ALBUM, FEATURING THE SINGLE 'BAD TIME' AND THE ANOTHER OLD SONG, 'SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL'. SECOND LIVE ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN 1975 "CAUGHT IN THE ACT" WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED "LIVE '75", BUT AT THE LAST MINUTE THEY CHANGED IT. "BORN TO DIE" RELEASED IN 1976 WAS STARTING TO SHOW A BAND THAT WAS RUNNING OUT OF STEAM. THE STYLE WAS ONCE AGAIN DIFFERENT FROM EARLIER PRODUCTIONS, SOUNDING MORE POPISH WITH THE SINGLE 'SALLY'. THE LAST ALBUM, "GOOD SINGIN´GOOD PLAYIN´"(1976) WAS PRODUCED BY FRANK ZAPPA, AND JUST LIKE THE TITLE SAID IT WAS GOOD SINGIN AND GOOD PLAYIN AND PROBABLY MORE ROCKING THAN THIER LAST TWO EFFORTS, BUT IT DIDNT SELL AS WELL. BETWEEN THE TENSIONS MOUNTING IN THE BAND AND THE DISCO ERA COMMING INTO PLAY, THEY DECIDED TO CALL IT QUITS. AFTER THE BREAKUP 1976, MARK FARNER FORMED "MARK FARNER BAND", THE OTHER MEMBERS CONTINUED UNDER THE NAME OF "FLINT", BUT TO NO GREAT SUCCESS. IN 1981 GRAND FUNK MADE AN ATTEMPT TO COME BACK WITH THEIR ALBUM "GRAND FUNK LIVES" WITH A LONGTIME FRIEND DENNIS BELLINGER ON BASS REPLACING MEL SCHACHER AND WITHOUT KEYBORADIST CRAIG FROST. THAT ALBUM FEATURED THE OLD ANIMALS CLASSIC 'WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE'. "WHAT´S FUNK", RELEASED IN 1983 WAS IN MY OPINION A STRONG ALBUM WITH TWO OLD SONGS, THE JAMES BROWN SONG, 'ITS A MAN'S WORLD' AND MARTHA AND THE VANDELLAS HIT 'NOWHERE TO RUN'. EVEN WITH THESE TWO STRONG SONGS, THE ALBUM FAILED. THIS WAS THEIR LAST STUDIO ALBUM TO DATE. REUNITED AGAIN AND OUT ON TOUR IN 1997, THE NEW LIVE ALBUM "BOSNIA" WAS RECORDED AT THE PALACE IN AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN. IN 1999 THEY RELEASED "THIRTY YEARS OF FUNK--1969-1999 THE ANTHOLOGY" WITH THREE NEW SONGS. GRANDFUNKRAILROAD